Meeting the League - Nightwing
by Triscribe
Summary: DCAU - Terry is badgered into taking Dana to the Metrotower for the first time. Unfortunately, none of the Leaguers know ahead of time that the new Nightwing is in fact Batman's girlfriend. Unfortunate for THEM, that is... Part of my Snatch and Grab DCAU, following It's a Family Business and Rise of the Birds.
1. Chapter 1

"Seriously?" Terry asked, shoulders slumping as he took in his girlfriend's determined expression. "Our first free weekend, and you really want to spend it visiting League headquarters?"

"Why wouldn't I want to spend it there?" Dana asked in an innocent tone, concealing her inner smirk.

"One, people are going to want to talk to us, plus two, the entire place is filled idiots, which equals three, we will spend the entire time being pestered by morons who don't know to leave us alone."

"Not everyone is an anti-social as you and the Old Man, Ter." Besides, the real reason for the trip, which she most definitely was _not_ telling her boyfriend about, was to make sure there weren't any ladies of the League making eyes at the mysterious Bat. Dana had never worried about anyone at their old high school stealing Terry from her, and even with them both attending classes at Gotham University she still wasn't concerned about other students.

But other superheroes? Dana needed to make sure there wasn't any competition she should be worried about...

-MtL-

Just as Terry bemoaned about earlier, League members throughout the Metrotower couldn't keep their eyes off the pair of black figures going past - one with a stylized red bat upon his chest, the other with a blue bird upon hers. It was while staring at her *ahem* symbol that no less than three heroes walked into different walls.

"This was a bad idea," Terry muttered at one point, which Dana chose to ignore.

"Hey, Bats!" An eager voice called out, a split second before Flash appeared in front of the two. Both Gotham heroes could easily tell how excited the woman was by the way she practically crackled with vibrated energy. "So, this is the new Nightwing, right?"

"Uh, yeah, that's me." Dana cautiously held out a hand, grateful when Flash shook it normally, despite bouncing on her feet.

"You given her the grand tour yet?" Terry had to shake his head.

"Nah, we just got here-"

"Great! Then I'll show 'Wing here around while you go talk to Barda and the Big S."

"Wait, why-" He didn't get a chance to ask why he had to go see the older Leaguers before Flash grabbed his girlfriend by the hand and proceeded to drag her off at superspeed.

"Great," Terry sighed. "Juuust great."

Heroes who'd been staring before swiftly got out of the irritated Bat's way when he headed for the command center, growling under his breath. The Old Man had recently gotten him started on learning more languages (something Matt was admittedly better at than Terry), but at the least the extra homework meant he got to pick up a variety of new curses.

Meanwhile, Dana's head was spinning by the time she and Flash came to a stop outside a set of double doors. "This is the mess hall!" She was cheerfully informed, hesitantly following the older woman inside. Easily three dozen heroes were scattered about at the tables, some actually eating, a fair amount simply chatting over their finished trays. Flash led her straight to where four other women were gathered. One was a blonde in black leather armor, a bow and quiver sitting on the floor beside her seat. Another was a brunette in a white and purple jumpsuit, a large letter E reaching across her torso. The last two each had black hair, and while their faces were very similar, one wore a black and purple costume with white edging, while the other had on a long blue trench coat and fedora.

"Ladies, I'd like to introduce you to one of Batman's partners, the new Nightwing," Flash gestured towards her guest with a broad grin. "'Wing, these here are all my oldest girlfriends: Laura Queen, the Black Canary; Grace Dibny, Elongated Woman; and the Sage sisters, Amelia and Arella, Huntress and Lady Q respectively."

"Ah, nice to meet you." Dana was glad for the welcoming smiles Laura and Grace gave her, and tried to ignore the sisters' suspicious gazes. Flash grabbed a couple more chairs from another table for them, then had the teen sit while she went and got some food.

"So, the third old Gotham cape to be given new life once more, eh?" Arella asked after a moment, tipping her fedora back a bit. "How's that working out for you so far?"

"Uh, good, so far. The Old Man- the first Batman, that is, has been pretty strict about what Robin and I are allowed to do so far, but I think he's starting to accept that neither one of us is backing down any time soon."

"I didn't know the original was still alive," Grace mused, taking a sip of her drink. "Do you all answer to him, then?"

"Yeah. Our masks have built in radio and visual links back to the Bat Cave so that he can watch and give us advice."

"Advice or marching orders?" Snorted Laura. "I remember how little patience that man had for us League kids. Why do I not think he's mellowed with age?"

"Probably because he hasn't." Dana admitted with a small grin. "I mean, I'm not old enough to have known what he was like in the old days, but I've heard some stories, from the first Nightwing and Batgirl."

"Barbara's still around too?" The other Sage sister, Amelia, asked in surprise.

"You know her?"

"She was a pretty good friend of our moms for a number of years, as Oracle." Laura explained. "Haven't heard from her in at least a decade, though..."

"She's the Commissioner of Police now, and my friend Maxine actually took on a sort of internship underneath her this year."

"Oh? Sounds like there might be a new Oracle in the works, ladies." Arella smirked. "Quick question, though - just how old are you and this Maxine?"

"Uhh..." Dana cursed internally. Next to names, ages were something the Old Man had warned them about sharing. _They can be a tool when it comes to arguing why you should or shouldn't be involved with something,_ he'd explained. _I should know - I seen the tactic used often enough myself, and I know none of you will appreciate being on the receiving end of it._

Fortunately, Flash returned at that moment, a tray balanced on either hand as she dropped into the last empty seat. "Sheesh! Cafeteria staff get so persnickety when you try to go down the line at superspeed."

Grace snickered. "'Persnickety'? You been reading stuff from the twentieth century again, Irey?"

"Hey, can I help it if my son's doing some old-fashioned research for his class project? Speaking of boys - 'Wing! You gotta help me convince Bats to bring his kid brother up here some time! I've already spread the word, and now the other pipsqueaks want to meet him too."

Dana groaned. "Please tell me you're joking."

"Nope. Why?"

"Because the kid brother has been pestering Batman to also come up here for a visit, and if the subject gets mentioned to him one more time, my boyfriend is seriously gonna blow."

"...Boyfriend?" Blinking, Dana stared at the baffled expression each lady at the table wore.

"Yeaah, my boyfriend. Batman. Wears black, has these tall pointy ears-"

"That's not possible," Laura was gaping like a fish. "Bats aren't supposed to openly be in a relationship. Not with other capes, and certainly not- not with each other!"

"We thought you were an adopted member or something." Irey finally recovered herself enough to explain. "But... You're really dating tall, dark and spooky?"

"We've been going out for three years, before he even met the Old Man." Dana crossed her arms. "Jerk never told me when he started being Batman, I had to figure it out for myself!"

"Oh-ho, I bet he got put in the doghouse for _that."_ The ladies were starting to get over their shock and grin again.

"Well, he would've been, if the final clue hadn't come to me when he saved my life during the Night of Ten Thousand Clowns." As one, all five of the older heroes winced.

"...We heard about that." Amelia said quietly. "The League would have responded, but there was-"

"Trouble with an ancient entity being woken up on the Moon, I know." The teen shrugged. "And really, if any non-Gotham heroes had shown up, the Old Man probably would have tossed them out on their ears. No matter what disaster is going down, he's pretty territorial, something that's already been passed on to the rest of us."

"No showing up in the Bats' city without an invitation then, got it." Laura smirked.

"For your own safety, yeah."

The ladies continued to chat for a little while longer, up until a trio of teenagers entered the mess hall and happened to glance over. David Hawkins looked appreciatively at the newcomer, nudging his best friend Mechanic at the same time.

"Hey, Bill, check it out." The blonde adjusted his goggles, and let out a low whistle.

"That must be the new Bat that the older guys were talking about." He muttered.

"Her name is Nightwing, dolts." David's cousin Helen point out. "And I don't think she'd appreciate being ogled to obviously."

"Chillax, Binder," David rolled his eyes. "I think I'm gonna go introduce myself."

" _Embarrass_ yourself is more like it." Helen rolled her eyes as Bill snickered. The other Dakota hero ignored them, strolling easily in the direction of the ladies' table. Canary was the only one to notice his approach, raising an eyebrow at the teen before smirking at some unknown thing.

"Hi there," David said smoothly, sliding in to stand beside the newcomer's seat. "You're Nightwing, right? I'm-"

"Shock, of Dakota City, one of the Hawkins electrokinetics."

His eyebrows rose, before the seventeen year old recovered with a cocky grin. "I see my reputation precedes me, then."

"Not really. I had a quiz earlier this week on reservist and part-time members of the League." Nightwing said idly. "Nice to meet you, by the way."

"And _enchanting_ to meet you, milady." David didn't pick up on the way Nightwing rolled her eyes beneath her suit's mask, but the other ladies at the table did. And from the devious grins they'd all gained, it was easily apparent none of them were inclined to help the younger hero out of her predicament any time soon. "I don't suppose you've gotten a tour of the 'tower yet, have you?"

"No, as a matter of fact, but Flash-"

"-Just remembered something important I have to do in a few minutes, so would you mind taking over for me, Shocky?"

"Not at all!" Dana shot a death glare at Irey, but knew better than to expect help from that quarter. She sighed, and tried a different tactic.

"Look, if it's all the same, I think I'd just rather wait until my boyfriend gets back."

"Boyfriend?" Shock asked in confusion. He jumped at the unexpected growl directly behind him.

"That would be me." Turning slowly, the Dakota teen came face to face with a _very_ pissed off Batman. Smirking silently, Dana left her chair behind, moving over to Terry's side and intertwining her fingers with his. "Now, if you'll excuse us..." The two of them turned and casually left the mess hall, ignoring the stares every single person was aiming their way.

"Betcha weren't expecting _that_ , were ya, kid?" Grace snickered. David's face burned as he made his way back over to his friends, each of whom had doubled over laughing as soon as Batman and Nightwing left the room. With his luck, the story would be all over the Metrotower within an hour, two, tops!

But how the hell was he supposed to know the new Gotham heroes were in a relationship with each other?


	2. Chapter 2

Ch 2

"So what did you have to see the upper tier for, anyway?" Dana asked as soon as she and Terry were out of the mess hall.

"I didn't." Her boyfriend growled. "Flash just made that up so that she could drag you off." Dana's eyes grew wide beneath her mask, and then she couldn't help but giggle.

"Well, can't say I'll hold it against her. I got to have a very nice chat with those other ladies, up until Shocky-boy showed up."

"Slagging little punk-"

"Batman. You can't go blaming someone for moving in on what they thought was fair game."

"Yeah, well, if he tries flirting with you again, I'm going to have to introduce 'Shocky-boy' to the darker side of Gotham's Dark Knight."

"...Alright, seriously, don't say anything like that again if you don't want me to break down laughing."

To two continued to bicker back and forth in a comfortable manner as they made their way through the Metrotower, Terry occasionally pausing to point out a room or feature to her. For the most part, they ignored the whispering League members and civilian personnel who passed by, despite the fact that the pair of Bats were clearly being discussed.

Eventually, they encountered a pair who weren't inclined to just pass by without an introduction.

"Decided you needed a little more muscle to help you out in Gotham, Bats?" A man with metal armor and wings chuckled as he approached, the green haired woman beside him rolling her eyes.

"Warhawk." Terry gritted out. "And Aquagirl, this is Nightwing."

"Your significant other, or so I've heard," the Atlantean said with a smile, clasping Dana's hand. "It's nice to meet you, Nightwing. Please, call me Marina when we're off duty."

"Same goes for me," Warhawk said, pulling off his helmet. "And by that I mean call me Rex, not Marina."

Dana muffled a snicker while Terry huffed. "Do I not get the same consideration as my girlfriend, Metal-beak?"

"Of course not. It pays to be polite to a lady, whereas the only thing anyone can be with you is irritated." At that, Dana couldn't help but laugh, which just deepened her boyfriend's bad mood.

"Enjoying your visit so far, Nightwing?" Marina asked, trying to change the subject.

"Yeah, I am. Got dragged off by Flash to meet some of the older League ladies a little while ago, which was interesting."

"I would imagine. Those women are certainly a force to be reckoned with. Would you like to meet some of the others a bit closer to our own age?"

Terry's shoulders sagged as her girlfriend happily agreed. He'd known this was going to be a bad idea right when Dana first suggested it, and was now being proven right. The pair of ladies ended walking a bit ahead of the boys, and it was when they'd dropped back a bit that Warhawk leaned over.

"Fair warning, Bats," the half-Thanagarian muttered to him. "Lotta folks don't believe you two are really together, and I'm pretty sure at least a few of the younger idiots aren't gonna be scared away from chasing a new suit."

"They'd better not." Terry darkly growled back, causing his older teammate's eyes to widen.

"Well, if any of 'em push their luck when you aren't around, 'Rina and I'll make sure to step in."

"...Thanks, Stewart."

"Don't mention it."

"Trust me, I don't plan to."

"Oh, don't like admitting you owe someone?"

As the two of them went back to the comfortable territory of arguing, Marina was checking to see just how well-versed on the League's ranks the new Nightwing really was.

"...and the pair of Pushkin siblings, who switch off which one is wearing the Rocket Red armor. That's all seventy eight, I think, based out of the Metrotower anyway."

The Atlantean princess gave her an impressed look. "I'm not sure _I'd_ even learned all those people. Certainly not their heroic identities as well as their real ones."

Nightwing just shrugged. "It's what the Old Man expects of us. If any of these people ever show up in Gotham, as friendlies or otherwise, he wants to make sure we know who they are, how they fight and, if necessary, how to take them down."

"Hn. That would explain how your boyfriend was able to take my team down so easily when he didn't want our assistance in the Matter Master hostage situation." She shot a sideways glance to the other female. "We guessed that someone he knew was being held inside that mall. I don't suppose you know who?"

"...His mother and little brother." Nightwing said quietly. "We'd been out getting the kid a birthday present when news about the crisis hit, and T- Batman had to take off."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry - I had thought it might have been you, actually. Is... I know that all the hostages made it out with minimal injury, but are his family members still doing well?"

"His mom died about three months ago."

Marina winced. "And there I go again..."

"No, it's... I don't have quite as much an issue talking about it as he would. And I doubt Batman would share any of this, so it's probably for the best that I be the one to tell his friends up here."

"He considers us his friends? Truly?"

"Well, he puts up with you, at any rate." Nightwing smirked at her, causing Marina to roll her eyes. "But anyway - she was hit by a drunk driver, and while it had both Batman and his brother shaken up for a while, I think it's brought the two of them closer together. The Old Man even took them both into his house, so that Social Services couldn't separate them."

Blinking, Marina stared at her. "That..."

"Seems pretty unbelievable, I know, but bear in mind that both the former Robins were orphaned boys the original Bat adopted as well."

"I was not aware of that fact."

The two of them returned to silence as they entered a room where the monitors were entirely made up of monitor screens, each displaying a scene from points all around the world. Some were peaceful, others showed League members in battle, and a few were of the prison cells of particularly dangerous enemies.

In the center of the room were a pair of arguing adults, similar enough in appearance that Dana instantly guessed that they were siblings. Add in the bows and quivers slung over their shoulders...

"Arsenal and Longshot, I assume?" She asked Marina as they approached.

"You _are_ good. Hey, Roger, Jean, think you can spare a minute from your bickering?" The archer brother and sister snapped their heads around.

"Hey, 'Rina!" They called out together, before the man of the pair went on. "This the new Bat?"

"Nightwing."

"Right, right, y'know, your predecessor was practically our mom's uncle back in the day." The woman, Longshot, grinned at her. "Sure do miss the old coot these days, even if he turned into a grouch."

Dana laughed. "I'll let him know I met you, next time I head over to Blüdhaven."

Both archers' eyes widened. "No way. You actually spend time with him?! ...Not a relation, are you?"

"No, just a student. He taught me and the new Robin most of what we know about handling ourselves in a fight."

Marina jumped back in before the Harper-Corners siblings could get into a drawn-out talk over their old uncle and fighting styles. "Actually, we were just stepping in to ask if you might know where Arrowette and the other teens were."

"Ah, better age match than hanging out with us old fogeys, huh?" Arsenal smirked. "Last I knew, Livi and a couple others were up at the top floor viewing platform, something about Eagle and Sparrow wanting to see about an idea for a prank."

The Atlantean groaned while Dana snickered. "Aren't you folks supposed to _stop_ your kids from pulling pranks on the League?"

"With _our_ parentage?"

"Kid, we learned from the original Speedy and Kid Flash themselves - _never_ pass up an opportunity to teach the League some humility, be it scathing comments when they screw up or pranking their pants off when things are going well."

"And suddenly, I understand why the Old Man doesn't want any of us new generationers within a hundred feet of a Flash or an Arrow." An amused voice called out from the open doorway. Dana threw a grin back at her boyfriend, who was leaning against the wall and looking rather smug for someone who'd been in a dark moon just a few minutes before.

"Where'd Warhawk go?" Marina asked suspiciously, which just caused Terry's smirk to grow.

"Oh, he just heard someone making an inappropriate comment in the hall, and decided to go straighten them out for it."

Recognizing his tone and realizing she wouldn't be getting any details until later, Dana headed back to Terry's side. "Feel like going and seeing what prank these teens are setting up, hot stuff?"

"Sounds good to me. Coming, Marina?"

"I'll let you two get back to enjoying each other's company." The Atlantean told them with a smile. "See you later?"

"See ya?" Once the pair had departed, she turned back to the archer siblings, each of whom appeared to be puzzling over something.

"Are they...?" Longshot started to ask.

"They are."

"Huh." Arsenal blinked. "Didn't see that one coming."

"I don't think anyone did. Now, I'll gladly take over monitor duty, if you two will go start spreading the word that Nightwing is off-limits - I don't want to have to clean up whatever poor idiot earns Batman's wrath by attempting to cozy up to his girlfriend."

"Gotcha. We're on it!"

"And then we are _so_ calling Mom and Grandpa to tell them, right?"

"Of course we are! Uncle Wally too, so that he can tell the other Founders!" Longshot grinned at her brother. "This is history in the making! A Bat openly involved with someone! It might even make the papers-"

"You're _not_ letting this leave the Metrotower." Marina warned the departing pair.

"-it might even make the League official Newsletter!"


End file.
